


36 Questions to Fall in Love (Probably. Maybe.)

by Ima1



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Fluff, POV Henry, oblivious idiots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 20:37:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14269071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ima1/pseuds/Ima1
Summary: Henry decides to test the supposedly foolproof "36 Questions to Fall in Love" questionnaire on his mothers.The results are somewhat unexpected, and yet totally what he was hoping for.***"“Is the camera really necessary?” Ma asks and Mom shares the same uneasy look.Henry shrugs nonchalantly and plasters on an innocent smile.“Duh. Of course. How else am I going to prove that the questions work? Besides, people will need evidence that the two people who hate each other the most in this town can fall in love.”“We don’t hate each other,” Ma says in a doubtful tone, nervously looking at Mom.“We’re sworn enemies, I can’t stand the sight of you” Mom haughtily says, and Henry is glad he already switched on the camera to capture this moment."





	36 Questions to Fall in Love (Probably. Maybe.)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all!
> 
> Just some senseless fluff for you. Set somewhere in season three. No Hook or Hood or any of that, don't know where they went, to be honest. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

 

Henry is on a mission. Or an operation, rather. Yes. Operation 36.

He thinks it’s a clever little trick, no one will know what it’s about unless they’ve spent the past week online. To no one’s surprise, fairytale people aren’t actually that adept at technology, even with cursed memories.

(He’s sure his mom had something to do with that little tidbit.)

So yes, Operation 36 is now in play.

He’s spent hours and hours mulling over the best approach until he came out with the best idea if he says so himself.

It was quite simple, really. There was nothing in the world both his mothers liked best then to prove people wrong. All he had to do was to suggest that the questionnaire was infallible, they were doomed to fall for it (and each other), and no sooner were they both revolting against modern day brainwashing and willing to prove that they were two strong-willed women who would in no way succumb to easy psychological tricks.

So easy.

(Okay, maybe not _that_ easy. He had to pull out the puppy dog eyes, especially with Ma, but, details.)

And now, here they are, Mom and Ma sitting uncomfortably on the living room sofa, staunchly avoiding eye contact, while Henry sits behind the camera with his notepad in hand.

(He might have added the beret for extra effect. Okay, fine, he got the flare for dramatics from his mom, genetics be damned.)

“So, are you all set?” he eagerly asks them.

“Is the camera really necessary?” Ma asks and Mom shares the same uneasy look.

Henry shrugs nonchalantly and plasters on an innocent smile.

“Duh. Of course. How else am I going to prove that the questions work? Besides, people will need evidence that the two people who hate each other the most in this town can fall in love.”

“We don’t _hate_ each other,” Ma says in a doubtful tone, nervously looking at Mom.

“We’re sworn enemies, I can’t stand the sight of you” Mom haughtily says, and Henry is glad he already switched on the camera to capture this moment.

Ma’s face falls a bit but she quickly recovers. “You’re right. I hate your guts.”

“Brilliant!” Henry excitedly exclaims. “Let’s get started, shall we? You go first, mom.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because,” he drawls out impatiently, “You lost the coin toss. Don’t worry, Ma will start with the next set,” he reassuringly supplies, only to be faced with two pairs of horrified eyes.

“Next set? As in, more than one?” Ma shakily asks.

Henry rolls his eyes at their stupidity. “Duh. 36 questions divided into three sets. I told you guys this! Did you even listen to me?”

Mom pointedly ignores him and does that little haughty raise of her chin in a ‘let’s face the world’ manner. Ma only frowns deeper and mumbles something under her breath that sounds a lot like “tricked by my own flesh and blood.”

Pft. Drama queens.

“Okay, then!” he cheerfully exclaims, effectively ignoring their resistance and darting forward to hand them each a copy of the previously printed out and color-coded highlighted questions. “Both of you must answer the same questions, but you each take turns in asking and answering first. And remember, you must answer the questions truthfully, don’t hold anything back. Well, maybe the R-rated stuff, I don’t wanna know about that,” he adds for good measure. “Just pretend I’m not here. And go!” he says with a flourish as he sits behind the camera looking as professional as can be.

They both look uncomfortably at the list of questions, which Henry made sure they had no previous knowledge of. Then Mom clears her throat.

“Let’s just get this over with then. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?”, she asks as if she would really rather be doing anything other than this right now.

“Ooh, does this mean I get to choose from the other worlds as well?”

Mom rolls her eyes at her. “If you must. Now answer the question, Miss Swan.”

“Jeez. Fine. Uh…” she trails off, thinking, and Mom rolls her eyes again in exasperation.

“Any day now, Sheriff.”

“Okay, okay. Michelle Obama. You?”

“My father.”

“Aw man, I thought we could only choose from living people. But that’s fine, I guess. My turn,” Ma says, looking at her list. “Would you like to be famous? In what way? Huh, I guess you’re already famous, though, right? In a way.”

A sorrowful look passes quickly through Mom’s eyes. “Yes. Well. I suppose I would like to be less infamous.”

Ma nods, lips raising slightly in sympathy. “Yeah. I don’t think I would want to be any more famous than I am right now,” she thoughtfully says. “This Savior thing is not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Mom gives her an understanding look then clears her throat and looks back down to her paper.

“Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?”

“Hum, not really, I guess. Unless I’m calling you,” Ma adds sheepishly and Mom raises a quizzical brow.

“Do I intimidate you, Miss Swan?”

“No,” Ma quickly denies in a way that is very much a yes and Henry can’t help but let out a little chuckle.

Mom smirks smugly as if part of her life’s mission is to make Ma squirm. “I don’t. Rehearse, that is,” she clarifies.

Ma squares back her shoulders and focuses on her next question. “What would constitute a “perfect” day for you?”

“Any day where we’re not saving this damned town from the supervillain of the week,” she wryly states and Ma chuckles in agreement.

“Amen to that. But other than that?”

Mom looks thoughtful for a moment before a soft smile graces her lips. “Just a day with my family, relaxing. Maybe riding horses. A quiet day.”

Henry looks intently at her and wonders if by ‘family’ she meant more than just him.

“Yours?”

“Much the same,” Ma says in a dreamy undertone. “Minus the horses,” she hastily adds. “Not a big fan of those. A nice movie marathon sounds fun though.”

The corner of Mom’s lip lifts up slightly and Henry almost fist pumps. He can feel the success!

“When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?” Mom asks, curious eyebrow raised.

Ma flushes in embarrassment as she says, “I kind of like singing in the shower, but I don’t sing to anyone else. You?”

“I sang to Henry when he was a baby,” she says, both of them suddenly looking over as if they’d forgotten he was there.

Ma gets a wistful smile as if she’s remembering the fake memories Mom gave her.

“If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?” Ma asks, this mischievous grin spreading on her face as she reads the question. “I guess the question kind of answers itself, doesn’t it?”

Mom looks affronted and Henry snickers quietly. “I am _nowhere_ near ninety, Miss Swan!”

Ma raises her hands up in mock surrender, biting her lip to contain her grin. “Of course not. But you look very good for however old you are,” she adds playfully and Mom blushes slightly, averting her eyes to fix her perfectly fine skirt.

Idiots. Henry is surrounded by idiots.

“Well, I think I’d like to keep the body of a 30-year-old only so that I can get wiser as I get older. Know what I mean?”

Mom hums in agreement. “Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?” she asks, a sudden shadow passing through her face and she swallows visibly.

“Hopefully later rather than sooner, but we all know what a Savior’s life is like,” Ma says humorlessly and Mom’s brows furrow further in displeasure. Ma looks up at her and tries to lighten the mood. “From a junk food overdose in my nineties.”

Mom rolls her eyes fondly before composing her face. “I’m quite sure pitchforks will be involved in my death,” she says morbidly and both Ma and Henry yell out their complaints. “No one is quite that forgiving, dears,” she adds dryly, “But not to worry, I don’t plan on going out without a fight.”

Henry and Ma both grunt in protest but let it go.

Ma clears her throat before chirpily saying, “Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.”

“A bratty and willful son,” Mom immediately replies, sending him a meaningful look to which he simply replies with a cheeky smile and she rolls her eyes in amusement, both her and Ma chuckle. “Our strength,” Mom adds, suddenly more serious and Ma looks at her with big round eyes. “Our destiny.”

The mood is suddenly heavy with the weight of those simple words, and Henry wonders what exactly she means by their common destiny. He has a feeling she doesn’t just mean their past where the Savior was destined to destroy the Evil Queen.

“Unwillingness to just accept fate,” Ma whispers. “Determination. Hope.”

Mom blinks rapidly and averts her eyes after a moment. “For what in your life do you feel most grateful?”

“Henry,” Ma says without hesitation and Mom nods vehemently and adds, “And for you, to have given me him,” and then they are stuck in this moment where they just stare at each other with so much emotion in their eyes that Henry has to turn around because he feels like he’s intruding.

He suddenly wonders if he should just leave, but he’s almost sure that they would just stop without him there to force them along and he can’t take his chances.

This is too important.

Ma suddenly clears her throat but her voice still comes out a bit hoarse when she asks, “If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?” And then she winces slightly at the question, as if afraid to both ask and answer it.

Mom lets out a dry laugh which sounds too heavy with unspoken words, too pained to be anything but unsettling.

“There are very few things I _wouldn’t_ change,” she says with finality, and Henry has read enough of the fairytale book to know there is a whole world buried beneath those words.

“Yeah,” Ma says with a nod. “I guess mostly I’d wish for a family to have stuck with me,” she says in that nonchalant way of hers that betrays the pain behind the statement and Mom gives her this regretful look and her hand jerks as if it was darting forward before she stopped it.

Mom clears her throat and goes to the next question. “Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.” She frowns as she looks down at the paper again. “I guess that’s not much of a question so I should start.”

Ma shrugs and looks both uncomfortable and curious, looking intently at Mom as she puts on her unaffected mask.

“Well, you all read the book. I think it’s kind of self-explanatory.”

“That book is completely biased and it has nowhere near the whole story. At least not yours, Regina,” Ma tells her earnestly. “I’d like to hear it from you.”

Mom looks stunned for a moment before she quickly recovers.

“I- Well, I didn’t have the best childhood. My mother…,” she trails off, pain flashing rapidly. “Anyway. But I had my father and my horse and then I had Daniel. I thought I still had a chance at being happy, regardless of what my mother wanted. I could run away,” she adds wryly with a shake of her head, as if aware of what an impossible thing that was. “Then you know what happened, and I was married to the king. That was…not a good time. And then I became Rumple’s apprentice and my life just went in a whole other direction. I was no longer powerless but…Anyway, you know how that turned out.” She looks away for a moment, lost in her memories and Ma just stares at her with so much compassion.

Henry feels a bit too emotional himself. He knows what happened, the general details at least, but to hear his mother say it, the sheer amount of pain in her voice, he just wants to kick his younger self in the ass for being such a jerk to her.

“Hum, well, you know my story as well but I guess fair is fair, right?,” Ma says with a wry smile and Mom finally looks back at her and nods regally. “Right. So, abandoned baby on the side of the road, happy home until I was three, thrown out when the new baby came to replace me,” she says in a matter of fact tone. “Then jumping from one foster home to the next, always the new kid everywhere till I got tired and ran away, and then I met Neal and went to jail and whatnot. The rest is history,” she says, frown marring her features. “Think we can take a break, kid?” she suddenly asks, already getting up from her seat and Henry is left a bit stunned as his mom soon follows suit.

Well. That was entirely to be expected. Minus Mom following after her, that part feels new.

He tries not to pry, he _does_ , for about thirty seconds, but then his curiosity gets the best of him so he gets up and peaks around the corner and gets the shock of his life because his mom is actually holding Ma’s hand as she whispers reassuring words to her.

He hears ‘sorry’ and ‘regret’ and ‘Henry’ and then he thinks he should stop what he’s doing and quickly makes his way back to his spot behind the camera, trying to look as innocent as possible.

They come back a few minutes later looking awkward and confused and then promptly sitting down and pretending nothing was wrong.

“So, where were we?” Mom asks with her mayor smile.

“Question 12,” Henry cheerfully provides. Maybe too cheerfully. He’s still getting the hang of this faking innocence thing. He dials it down a bit and adds, “It’s Ma’s turn.”

Ma leans over to the coffee table and takes a large gulp of water before she places the glass back down and squares her shoulders, facing the paper.

“Okay. Hum, If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?”

Mom smirks deviously. “I don’t know, I think my current magical abilities are quite sufficient,” she says, and Ma laughs, eyes shining with mirth.

“Yup. Though I think I might want to have a try at telepathy,” she says with a certain undertone and Mom shuffles uncomfortably in her seat, fixing her hair and pretending she didn’t catch it.

Oh. _Oh_. Ew, gross. So gross. He shakes his head to get rid of that though and excitedly exclaims, “Okay! Next set! You start this time, Ma.”

“A third way through, huh. Think you’re liking me a bit better yet?” Ma teases and Mom smirks.

“Hasn’t changed a thing.”

“Evil,” Ma pouts and Mom’s smile brightens.

His moms are so freaking weird.

“Get on with it, Miss Swan.”

“Right. So. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?”

Mom looks pensive for a moment while her eyes dart over Ma’s face. “I guess I’d like to know if my…wishes stand a change of coming true,” she vaguely says and Ma’s eyes widen a bit.

“I don’t think I’d want to know anything about the future,” Ma says with a thoughtful frown. “Maybe if I could know if my family is going to be alright.”

Mom nods in agreement and reads the next question.

“Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?”

Ma gets this giddy look and a slow smile spreads across her lips. “I wanna ride a dragon,” she says with bright, eager eyes and Mom rolls her eyes in exasperation but there’s a smile she’s barely holding back.

“You can’t just ride a dragon, Miss Swan,” she tells her. “They’re intelligent creatures with their own will. Also, you kind of killed the only dragon in Storybrooke, so that’s out of the equation.”

Ma pouts and gives her puppy dogs eyes and Mom only rolls her eyes further.

“Fine, if we ever see a dragon again I’ll make sure to ask very nicely if you can ride it,” she relents and Ma fist pumps the air while she lets out a victorious “Yes!”.

Henry just shakes his head in amusement. How are these two still trying to pretend they don’t like each other is beyond him. This Operation is working its magic.

“How about you?”

Mom thinks for a moment before she quietly says, “I’ve always wanted to travel the world. This one,” she clarifies. “I was basically stuck here for almost thirty years and I always wondered what it’d be like to actually see and experience it.”

“One day,” Ma offers with a promising smile. “What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?”

Mom turns to him and smiles her Henry smile and Ma nods her agreement and then he clears his throat loudly so both of them stop acting so embarrassingly motherly and focus on each other.

“What do you value most in a friendship?”

“Loyalty,” Ma immediately says. “Understanding. Support.”

“Trust. Not just me trusting them, but them trusting me, believing in me,” Mom says and her eyes focus intently on Ma as if she’s talking about her. “What is your most treasured memory?”

Ma gives her a little shy smile and looks down, embarrassed. “Uh, actually, they’re not really mine,” she hesitantly says, “But the memories of raising Henry that you gave me…They were- They were really special,” she adds, voice laden with emotion.

Mom smiles gently and tucks her hair behind her ear. “Those are also my favorite, only from my point of view.”

“What is your most terrible memory?” Ma hesitantly asks, face already contorted in a wince in expectation of the answer.

“Daniel,” Mom states, seemingly matter-of-fact if not for her trembling hands.

“Henry after he ate the turnover,” Ma tells her, Mom suddenly sucking in a ragged breath and nodding, bottom lip trapped beneath her teeth and quivering. “If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?”

Mom looks at her then with so much emotion in her face that Henry has to look away, and when he turns to them again it’s to look through the camera’s screen as if that will lighten the intensity.

“Yes,” she simply states after a while, too much longing in that single word.

“Me too,” Ma whispers, both apparently content with not properly answering the question and Henry doesn’t even want to push for it. This moment already feels way too intimate, too telling.

“What does friendship mean to you?”

“Someone to help me carry the load, who understands the toll being the Savior takes, who regardless of that doesn’t let me slack, always keeps me on my toes, always demands better of me.”

If Henry didn’t know any better, he’d say she’s describing Mom. Only, they are very intent on constantly reaffirming that they’re not friends. Right? Pft, yeah.

“Understanding,” Mom starts, eyes still locked with Ma. “Someone who knows me, the real me, but still believes in me, who pushes me to be constantly the best version of myself I can be. And someone who stops me from going on a heart-ripping rampage,” she adds in a lighter tone and Ma laughs heartily.

“That’s hard work considering the town we live in,” Ma jokes and Mom smirks, eyes shining with mirth.

“You have no idea.”

“What roles do love and affection play in your life?” Ma asks and then promptly frowns all the while blushing and Henry rolls his eyes at their oblivion. “Seriously, kid? What kind of question is this?”

Henry shakes his head in exasperation. “Just answer the question! And keep it PG please, I’m already scarred for life, I don’t need another trauma.”

His mom gives him a reproaching look and he looks away, mildly chastised, and mumbles a quick apology.

Mom looks back at Ma, cheeks flushed prettily but she puts on her unaffected face. “I suppose I haven’t had a loving romantic relationship in a very long time but…Yes, I’d say it’s an important part of life for me, with the right partner.”

Ma’s eyes suddenly brighten with what looks a lot like hope and then she blushes profusely.

“Right. Yeah. Uh. Yeah, me too. Very important,” she oh so eloquently says and Henry almost facepalms at her lack of game.

Mom has this pleased little smile on her lips but then she clears her throat and reads the next question.

“Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner. Share a total of five items.” Mom raises her brow in that haughty way of her and then quirks her lips in distaste. “Must I really?” she asks, turning to Henry. “Five is a lot, I’m not sure I can even come up with one,” she deadpans and Ma sputters, offended.

“Hey! I’m not that bad! You’re the Evil Queen and I’m sure I can find at least one good thing to say about you,” she grumbles and Mom crosses her arms defiantly.

“Go on then, dear,” she dares.

Ma huffs and stutters and then profusely blushes. “Uhm. Well. You…” Mom raises her eyebrow expectantly and starts shaking her foot impatiently.

“Anytime now, Miss Swan.”

“Yes, _that_ ,” Ma points out, waving her arm around as if Mom just made her point. “That voice thing you do and that face. It’s-“ she stops mid-sentence, wide-eyed and red as a tomato and Henry groans before purposefully tuning around to avoid seeing this train wreck.

“Yes, yes, you’re both very pretty,” he grumbles, ears burning in embarrassment. “Just try to focus on other things, please, I beg you. For your darling son,” he adds dramatically. Then he waves one hand over his head in their direction, still facing backward. “Just take turns saying one nice thing about each other, it’s not that hard!”

Mom clears her throat and sniffs loudly. “You’re an adequate Sheriff, I suppose.”

“And you’re not too bad of a Mayor. When you’re not cursing your citizens,” she adds under her breath and, thankfully, Mom ignores her jibe.

“And I guess you’re kind of a natural at magic. It’s impressive.”

“You’re a really good teacher,” Ma assures her.

“You’re hopeful.”

“Determined.”

“Brave.”

“Strong.”

“Caring.”

“You have a really big heart,” Ma finishes and Mom snorts elegantly but doesn’t say anything else.

Henry peaks over his shoulder to see if its safe to turn around and finds them both staring (lovingly, almost?) at each other and he just takes a minute to marvel at how well this operation is going.

It’s like they don’t even notice he’s there, too focused on each other. It’s kinda gross. And kinda awesome.

Eventually, Mom clears her throat and Ma shakes her head slightly and they both mess around with fixing their clothes which haven’t changed in the last couple of minutes but, alright.

“Right. Your turn,” Mom quietly says and Ma nods.

“How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s?” She lets out a loud groan of complaint then. “Seriously? I don’t think this questionnaire was made for people like us, let’s just skip this one.”

Mom nods gratefully in agreement and Henry doesn’t even try to object. Them agreeing on something is kind of a win in and of itself.

Then it’s Mom’s turn and when she reads her question she lets out a loud groan.

“How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?” She asks derisively. “ _Seriously_? No.”

Ma echoes her dismay and Henry just rolls his eyes but lets them skip this one as well. There is no way he’s getting in between that can of worms.

“Skipping it,” Ma agrees and obstinately flips to the third set of questions.

“Make three true “we” statements each. For instance, “We are both in this room feeling…” Mom reads then gets her little trademark smirk on her lips. “Annoyed,” she deadpans and Ma laughs. “We are both mothers to a wonderful boy,” she continues and Henry groans in embarrassment. Why must they always do this? Also, he’s not a boy anymore, he’s thirteen! “We are both strong-willed women willing to do anything to protect our family.”

Ma smiles and nods in agreement. “We are both powerful witches,” and Henry can’t help blurting out “lame” in response, earning reproachful looks from both of them which he simply shrugs off. “We fight for what we believe in. We strive to be better versions of ourselves every day.”

They share a private smile before Ma turns back to the questions, her turn to start.

“Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share… Damn, these are getting deep,” she mutters and Mom hums in agreement, visibly less put out than she’d normally be. “I wish I had someone with whom I could share my life,” she states quietly. “Not just the easy parts, the parts where it gets really fucking hard—”

“Language,” Mom tuts, and Henry grins.

“Sorry,” Ma mumbles sheepishly. “Yeah, someone to share a bit of the burden with me, I guess,” she finishes, shrugging her shoulders.

Mom gives her an understanding look and a gentle smile. “I wish I had someone who I could be myself with. The real me, not…” she trails off gesturing vaguely to her appearance. “Not the mask. Not the mayor or the Evil Queen or— just me, just Regina.”

Oh. my. god.

His moms are so obvious.

The look their sharing is just so filled with understanding and longing and how on earth are they still claiming they don’t like each other?!?!

Mom shakes her head slightly after a while and bites her lip shyly.

“Hum… If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.” Mom holds her necklace in her hands then, her face slightly anxious. “I—I guess that… It won’t be easy,” she hesitantly starts, visibly nervous to open herself up even more. “I’m not an easy person to get to know or to… Anyway. Patience, that’s what I need. Patience and understanding.”

Ma looks at her then with the most gentle and earnest face and now Henry is definitely starting to feel like a third wheel but there’s just no way he can leave now.

“I think for me it’s just… I might have moments where I just want to up and leave,” Ma sheepishly says, eyes begging Mom to understand. “Sometimes things get too much and I get overwhelmed and my first instinct is to run and… It’s not personal, that’s what I need to say. It will be about me, not about anyone else. And I will always come back,” she promises.

Mom nods and Ma looks instantly more relieved.

“Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met,” Ma reads and an instant blush graces her cheeks. “I feel like we answered this already,” she mumbles sheepishly.

“What? Ran out of nice things to say about me, Miss Swan?” Mom teases and Ma lets out a little desperate chuckle, her eyes begging Mom to spare her but she shows no mercy.

Ma groans, exasperated and runs a hand through her hair.

“Okay,” she bravely says. “I l—like that you’re the kind of person who in face of so much adversity still remains strong, unbreakable, hopeful in your future. That you accept your mistakes and try to repent for them but that you don’t deny yourself the opportunity to find your own happiness.”

She finishes fervently and both of them are blushing furiously. Henry just feels proud of his mom. Both of them. Even though they’re far to blind to his liking.

“I like that you stay true to yourself, no matter what. That even after all you’ve been through you still stand up for what’s right, still defend the weak ones. You’re an amazing person, Emma,” Mom whispers and them immediately averts her gaze and focuses on the view from the window, suddenly aware of what she just said.

Henry himself feels like he’s about to explode with happiness but poor Ma looks a mix between absolute shock and complete elation. It’s a hilarious combination and he is infinitely glad that he decided to film this Operation.

After a heavy moment of silence, Mom turns around as if nothing happened and reads her questions.

“Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life. Well. I think we have our answer,” she says under her breath and Ma lets out a little awkward chuckle.

“Well,” Ma starts, voice slightly quivering. “In my bail-bonds person days I was after this sleaze-bag who was easily three times my size but I was convinced that I could take him out by myself, all I needed was a little dose of sleeping pills in his drink. Turns out, for a guy that big the dose needed to be much higher and I ended up being carted around like a big bag of potatoes on his shoulder until the cops showed up,” she tells her with an embarrassed smile and Mom laughs heartily, visibly grateful for having the attention off herself.

Henry takes a moment to just shake his head at both of them.

How on earth can they understand each other so well, to the point where Ma voluntarily embarrasses herself because she knows Mom hates being vulnerable more than anything, and they still act like they don’t care for each other?

Mind-blowing. Honestly.

“When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?” Ma reads. “Wew, heavy stuff,” she jokes weakly.

Mom smiles wryly and looks like she’s contemplating not answering. “I think it was your mother, during our year in the Enchanted Forest, embarrassing as that thought is,” she adds dryly. “By myself…Recently,” she vaguely replies, final in her tone.

“Hum. I think for me it was in front of you, actually,” Ma retorts and Henry’s curiosity peaks, wanting to know what happened between them but they’re both sharing this look and he just knows he won’t find out anything else from them. “Tell your partner something that you like about them already,” Ma continues, seamlessly avoiding the other question and taking Mom’s turn in asking the questions.

Henry’s gotta hand it to them, they’re experts at half-responses and effortless evasion.

“I feel like this question has been asked and answered at least a couple of times, it’s like they’re fishing for compliments,” Ma jokes and Mom chuckles heartily. “I suppose, if I must answer, I kind of like the whole package,” Ma boldly states, lips in a cocky smirk and Mom just blinks rapidly at her while her cheeks visibly darken.

Henry has to admit, turns out his Ma does have game after all.

Mom looks at her lap shyly, hands twisting and turning, before she glances back up with those big brown eyes of hers, visibly pleased.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Miss Swan,” she husks, and god, oh no, no, no, no. He does not want to hear that tone coming out of his mother’s mouth when he’s still in the room!

Ma dramatically swoons, one hand to her heart and the other leaning against her forehead.

“The highest compliment from the Queen herself!”

Mom just rolls her eyes but her face shines with mirth. “What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?” she asks.

Ma hums thoughtfully, all playfulness put to the side. “I feel like it all kind of depends on the context. A lot of times humor can be used to make heavy situations a bit lighter, help you deal with things better,” she says with a shrug.

“Yes, I agree,” Mom assents with a small nod.

“Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?” Ma asks.

“This ring,” Mom says, clear in her tone that she won’t elaborate.

“My baby blanket,” Ma replies.

“Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?”

“Henry,” they reply instantly and unanimously.

“Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen,” Ma reads with a furrowed brow.

“You don’t have—“ Mom starts when Ma takes to long, forehead creased in thought.

“No. No, it’s alright, I guess,” Ma reassures her and Henry smiles, pleased that they’re not chickening out. “Um… I suppose I’d want to know how you would handle dealing with a change in a relationship,” Ma starts tentatively, then bites her lip in contemplation.

“For the better?” Mom hesitantly asks.

“Yes,” Ma quickly replies, eyes bright and honest. “But it might seem sudden or, I don’t know, unusual. Frowned upon, even.”

“By whom?” Mom asks with slight weariness.

“Just…people. They might think it’s not the right fit,” she continues, worrying her lip relentlessly.

“What do you think?” Mom probes gently, almost hesitant.

Ma looks her eyes, her eyes almost too green. “I think it’s the perfect fit. I think people are stupid and judgmental and I don’t give a f—I don’t care,” she automatically corrects after Mom sends her an admonishing look, “I don’t care what they think.”

“So what’s stopping you, really?”

“I… Well, I guess I’m scared.”

“Maybe they’re scared too,” Mom whispers quietly and Ma looks up in shock, hope flashing through her eyes.

Henry gawks at them, both utterly surprised and absolutely elated at this turn of events. He makes himself as invisible as possible, not that it’s very hard at the moment considering his mothers seem to have forgotten he’s in the room a long time ago and their only focus is each other.

Mom then abruptly lowers her face to her questionnaire, as if hoping to change subjects.

(Henry almost feels sorry for what’s about to come. Almost. But not really.)

“If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet?” Mom reads, voice getting shakier and quieter until it’s almost a whisper by the end of the last question and Henry is sitting eagerly on the edge of his seat, waiting.

This is question number 33 supposedly, but Henry thought it would be better if he made it the last question, and he’s _really_ glad that he did it. This is the big moment, the big reveal. He can practically hear the drumroll!

(Yes, okay, dramatic. Sue him.)

Mom looks suddenly away, back to the window, visibly swallowing on some type of emotion, and Ma keeps her eyes on her lap, equally as uncomfortable, her hands shaking slightly.

After a long, heavy, intense pause, Ma takes a deep breath, as if gathering the courage to answer the question, but Mom beats her to it.

“I love you, Emma,” Mom whispers shakily and Ma looks up so quickly Henry is scared she hurt her neck, eyes shining with tears. “That’s what I would regret not saying,” Mom adds, rather uselessly but with more firmness, straightening herself up as if to face the next monster of the week, almost as if daring Ma to tear her down.

Which is _so_ not gonna happen.

Ma’s face slowly changes, her features relaxing from shock to happiness until there’s a bright smile on her face and then she’s surging forward and—

Ew.

Ew, ew, _ew_.

Nope, definitely not looking at his mothers kissing.

No way in hell.

He hastily makes his way out of the room, shielding his eyes from further trauma, but he smiles happily when he hears his Ma reply with a sincere “I love you, too, Regina.”

Operation 36: success.

 

* * *

 

Henry finally makes it back to the living room after almost an hour, belatedly remembering that he left the camera rolling and so not looking forward to going through _that_ footage.

He was hoping that the prolonged silence and hushed whispers meant that they would have time to finish their impromptu make-out session but nope.

No. There they are, still making out on the couch like teenagers.

Okay, he’s exaggerating a little bit. They actually look really cute ( _gross_ , but cute), cuddling close and leaning on each other’s arms, Mom with her head resting on Ma’s shoulder, who then lifts up her head gently by the chin to kiss her again and yup, too much for his eyes.

“Gross!” he groans as he makes his way to his camera and presses stop, effectively putting a stop to the growing incriminating evidence. “I mean, yay, happy for you and all, but keep it to your room.”

His moms just both roll their eyes and promptly ignore him, Mom leaning forward to give Ma another peck.

Okay. Now he’s sure they’re just messing with him.

(It’s fine. It’s possibly payback for the awkward moments the questionnaire put them through but he will not apologize for it and is okay with paying the price. To a certain degree.)

“Yes, yes, I get it, you’re happy,” he grumbles. “So the questionnaire worked, huh?” he excitedly asks, eager to change the subject.

Mom sits a bit straighter and fixes her blouse.

“Oh. Yes, honey. Very effective your little questionnaire.”

Henry looks at her suspiciously.

Why does her voice sound like that’s the exact opposite of what she means?

And why is she doing that thing with her face?

“Yeah, kid. Really opened our eyes,” Ma tells him in a weirdly sarcastic tone.

“Definitely made us stop hating each other,” Mom agrees.

“Oh yeah, the hatred was tremendous."

“Insurmountable."

“Infinite."

“I absolutely loathed you, Miss Swan," Mom says with a brilliant smirk and Ma grins widely in response.

“Oh, I hated your guts, Your Majesty."

“See, honey? It worked!” Mom says with fake cheerfulness.

Henry just groans loudly and plops himself back in his director’s chair (he’s maybe a _tiny_ bit extra), hand covering his face in dejection.

“You didn’t hate each other before this,” he grumpily concludes.

“Sure we did, kid. The fiercest enemies!”

Henry just levels her with a look, utterly unimpressed.

“Jeez. I knew you didn’t but I thought _you_ guys didn’t know that!”

“We… didn’t _not_ know it,” Mom sweetly says and Henry gives her a similar look Ma just got.

Ma just laughs and gets up from the sofa, taking Mom with her by the hand.

“Just get over it kid. We loved each other before but your operation was still a success.”

“How did you—”

Mom gives him a fond eye roll.

“You’re our son and dramatic as they come. Everything is an operation for you,” she says and he glares at them but Mom just walks by and kisses him on his head, followed by Ma ruffling his hair and both of them leaving in a fit of giggles.

 _Giggles_! The Evil Queen and the Savior, colluding and canoodling.

Well. He still thinks his operation is a success.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think :D 
> 
> Also, Henry is a little shit but he served his purpose here :P


End file.
